Virtual Public Health Preparedness program: An evaluation of the user experience with the technological environment

Several public health education programs across the country have started offering much needed and critical virtual training programs for groups that may be involved in an emergency situation. While such virtual programs are more convenient and cost-effective than traditional classroom training, their success depends on the underlying technological environment. In a technological environment, different types of experiences come in to play – users' utilitarian or pragmatic experiences, their fun or hedonic experiences, their social experiences and most importantly, their usability experiences. These different user experiences provided by the technological environment could shape the success of the training program. This study adopts a multi-disciplinary approach and draws on theories in human computer interaction, usability research and online consumer behavior. The objective of this research is to examine how we can make virtual emergency preparedness training more effective and appealing to participants. Specifically, the study aims to evaluate the impact of pragmatic, hedonic, sociability and usability experiences of the technological environment on training program success. Data is currently being collected using a questionnaire from subjects who have registered for virtual public health preparedness training courses offered by a University in the Northeast. Participants were invited to answer an online survey questionnaire. Results from the survey will be analyzed using simple regression technique as well as structural equation modeling. The study findings are expected to hold important implications for the design of effective virtual emergency preparedness training targeted at varying audiences including the general public, health care and public health professionals, and emergency responders.